Annual UN Forum 2023 on International Humanitarian Law & Peacekeeping

The United Service Institution of India (USI) is preparing for its Annual United Nations Forum 2023, which will take place in New Delhi on November 21-22, 2023. Its emphasis is on 'International Humanitarian Law and Peacekeeping.' This seminar will discuss the vital requirement for adherence to IHL principles in complicated peacekeeping circumstances, and is being organised in partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Centre for UN Peacekeeping Operations. The forum on 'International Humanitarian Law and Peacekeeping' is co-organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Centre for UN Peacekeeping Operations.

About United Service Institution of India (USI)

• The United Service Institution of India (USI) is India's first think tank focused on national security and defence services. 
• It was founded in 1870 to conduct study and discussion on national security and military matters.
• USI operates research facilities in a variety of national security topics. 
• The USI publication, which has been published quarterly since 1872, is Asia's oldest defence publication. 
• Major General Sir Charles MacGregor founded the United Service Institution in Shimla in 1870. 

UN Peacekeeping

• UN Peacekeeping is a critical instrument used by the United Nations to assist countries in transitioning from violence to peace.
• It brings together the United Nations General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the Secretariat, as well as military and police contributions.
• The United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) was established in May 1948, when the UN Security Council authorised the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours.
• UN Member States are collectively responsible for the financial resources of UN peacekeeping missions.

Indian Contribution at UN Peacekeeping

• India has a long history of contributing to UN peacekeeping missions. 
• It is one of the major troop contributors, having a history of sending troops, doctors, and engineers to numerous peacekeeping operations across the world.
• So far, India has sent roughly 2,75,000 personnel to peacekeeping missions.
• troops from the Indian Army have made considerable sacrifices while serving in UN Peacekeeping Missions, with 179 troops dying in the line of duty.
• In New Delhi, the Indian Army has built the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK).
• India has the second biggest women contingent after Liberia in the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei.
• Women Military Police have also been deployed by India in the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, as have female staff officers and military observers in different missions.
• From March 1992 until March 1993, Lt Gen Satish Nambiar, a former Indian Army Lieutenant General, led the United Nations Protection Force. He also sat on the Peacebuilding Commission's "High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change."